OCR Text |
Show 1 9 0 5 .] VASCULAR SYSTEM OF LACERTILIA. 481 of the stomach, to which it is attached. This disposition is possibly due to the absence of a left lung and its accompanying pulmo-hepatic ligament, which in forms where it does occur comes into relation with the right liepato-gastric ligament. At a distance of rather more than 40 mm. from the anterior end of the liver the two dorsal hepatic ligaments unite to form a single membrane, which extends forward for the remainder of the course of the liver. It is at least common, if not the rule, among the Lacertilia, for these two membranes to unite anteriorly. So that the conditions obtaining in Amphisbcena are merely an exaggeration of those to be seen elsewhere, and due to the elongation of the liver. I shall recur to this anatomical relationship of the membranes in considering the blood-vessels which run in them. Text-fig. 66. Membranes uniting vena cava and left lung in Amphisbcena brasiliana. a. Umbilical ligament; b. Pulmo-hepatic ligament; Lu. Lung; v.c. Vena cava. The liver is also attached to adjacent viscera by a lateral mesentery upon the left side of the body, and uniting the liver with |